


Unidentified Feelings

by notaguitarfret



Series: "They're all girlfriends" AU [2]
Category: Heathers: The Musical - Murphy & O'Keefe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, F/F, Fluff, Gen, kurt and ram being dickheads, mentions of bulimia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-24
Updated: 2018-06-24
Packaged: 2019-05-27 16:03:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,352
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15028199
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/notaguitarfret/pseuds/notaguitarfret
Summary: Veronica is somehow convinced by Heather Duke to join her on a double date with Ram and Kurt, and they both end up regretting their decision.





	Unidentified Feelings

Veronica sat on a step of a stairway, leaning as far against the wall as she could so that no one would trip over or step on her. Though there were very few people in the hallway now, she wasn’t going to risk being trampled by swarms of careless, wannabe juniors.

On her lap was her open diary, the lined pages blank. In her left hand was her pen, swinging back and forth while she stared at the paper, trying to think how to start her next passage.

Finally, the pen came into contact with the page.

 _Dear Diary,_ she began, before momentarily pausing. _For my own safety, I’ve been avoiding as much social interaction as possible._ She stopped again, lightly tapping her chin with her pen. _Sure, I could use the Heathers as a human shield, but even then, would they really be able to stop some lumbering jackasses from breaking my nose?_ She looked up, making sure no football-playing motherfuckers were lingering around.

_Doubt it. Hell, I’d be surprised if they even made an attempt. They’d probably find it fucking hilarious._

She stared at the sentence she had just written for a while. Then, she cut through it with a line, replacing it with:

 _Doubt it, though maybe they’d cause a scene if I’m lucky._ She hesitated. _Or at least offer to get a paper towel for my broken face._ She sighed. _Hell, I don’t even blame them. What are a few dolled-up girls gonna do in the face of some horny dickheads who got sad that they couldn’t drug the hottest snatch in the game?_

She was about to move onto the next paragraph, when an all too familiar voice rang from down the corridor.

“Veronica!”

She looked up and, as expected, saw Heather Duke cantering over to her. She slammed her diary shut and kept it on lockdown beneath her hand.

Heather came and sat on the same step as her.

“I knew you’d be somewhere around here,” she said turning to her. “Glad I found you!”

Her tone was too peppy to be natural.

“What do you want, Heather?” She thought she might as well cut to the chase.

Heather gingerly grinned at her. “Need anything? Pfft, of course not!”

Veronica slyly smiled at her. “Alright then, guess I’ll see you later-” she said, shoving her diary and pen into her backpack, only to be stopped by Heather’s hands grabbing her arm desperately.

“No, no, wait-” she begged. Veronica sighed, disgruntled, but stayed put.

“Then what is it?”

Heather attempted to smile innocently at her. Veronica wasn’t buying it, but whatever.

“Well, Ram just asked me out on a date,” she started slowly. Veronica arched a brow.

“Yes?”

“But only on one condition.”

“Fuck.” Veronica could take an educated guess to what she was about to ask.

“He wants to double with Kurt.”

“Oh God.”

“Will you-”

“No.”

Heather frowned. “Why not?"

Veronica glared at her. Was she really that dense?

“He’s a dick. Why would I want to go on a fucking date with him?”

Heather rolled her eyes. “It doesn’t have to be anything _serious_ , Veronica.”

She scoffed at her words. Serious or not, a date with the asshole would be hell.

“Please, Veronica?” Heather begged, eyes wide and pleading. “For your best friend?”

She felt like she couldn’t escape this situation.

“Can’t you ask Heather or Heather?”

“I _did_ ,” she muttered. “Apparently they’ve got plans on that night.” She then gripped her blue sleeve. “ _Please?_ ”

Veronica inhaled deeply, then let out a long, defeated sigh. “Fine,” she grumbled. “There better be pizza.”

Heather grinned widely. “If shit gets dull I’ll order one,” she said. “I’ll come pick you up at eight on Wednesday.” She then stood up, patted Veronica’s head like a dog and walked off. Veronica watched her leave, feeling a pit develop in her stomach. She rubbed her temples.

She predicted that she wouldn’t enjoy this.

 

* * *

 

 

“Flattering choice for a romantic setting,” Veronica commented, voice dripping with sarcasm. Heather muttered something inaudible under her breath.

The two of them had actually put at least a _bit_ of effort into their appearance tonight. Veronica should have known better, since now she was constantly trying to keep balance as she stumbled through the mud and brambles on her high heels, having to latch onto Heather every time she thought she’d topple over, which was, hint hint, often.

Heather didn’t take notice of her comment. Either she wasn’t dealing with her shit tonight or she agreed with her.

They eventually made it out onto flatter grass, to their relief. Finally they could walk in a somewhat straight line again.

“Hey, hurry up, slow pokes!” Kurt’s voice rang from ahead. Of course they were ahead, what with their flat shoes and loose clothes. Veronica scowled at them. What a great fucking date so far - being dragged over a wall of a cemetery, lead into the woods, then treated with the greatest respect from two classy gentlemen who held their hands as to help guide them through the dark forest, making sure they stuck together at all times.

Oh, sorry, she got that last part wrong. What she meant was that the two dumbasses had fled ahead, leaving the two girls in the mud to figure their own way out.

Eventually they’d made it onto the field. Still not a great location by any means, but at least they could _walk_.

They both attempted to quicken their pace in order to not lose sight of their dates. They’d finally decided to stop and wait for them, which was the first “nice” thing they had done all night.

“God, what took you so long?” Ram snidely commented. Veronica held back the need to spit in his eye. This was supposed to be her date?

She managed to compose herself just enough to say, “We’re wearing _heels_.”

“Why’d you think heels would be a good idea?” Kurt laughed. It was Heather who replied this time.

“We thought you’d be taking us out somewhere."

“We are?” they both said, looking at her as if she were stupid.

“Somewhere _nice_ ,” she added bitterly.

“Don’t be so _whiney_ ,” Ram complained.

“Yeah, you’re supposed to be our dates,” Kurt added. “Now, come on.”

Before they could protest, Kurt and Ram had roamed off, further into the pasture. Both Heather and Veronica sighed simultaneously, before following reluctantly.

They’d been dragged across two fields before they finally came to a stop. Veronica’s feet were aching like hell while Heather was panting, clearly drained from all the unwanted exercise.

They had stopped a few feet away from Ram and Kurt, who were both giggling like toddlers as they pointed at some nearby cattle. And by nearby, she meant, not even half way across the field.

“God, they better fucking not,” Veronica hissed, folding her arms around her body which was beginning to feel the cold breeze on her naked arms. Heather had only just caught her breath and finally looked up at the two boys.

“Fucking hell,” she muttered.

They both watched as the teenagers approached the nearest cow, circling it while sniggering at each other.

Veronica winced as they took a step closer, then grabbed Heather’s shoulder.

“Perhaps we should stand back.”

Heather obliged, following Veronica to the very edge of the field, right next to the barbed wire.

Now at a safer distance, they watched as their dates shoved the cow. Veronica guessed the aim was to tip it over. Unfortunately for them, that plan failed.

Instead, the cow was able to catch itself, find its footing, and begin its chase. Kurt and Ram yelled a mix of fear and amusement as the huge, bulky animal attempted to ram into whichever boy it could reach.

Veronica watched the whole ordeal go down, wishing she could find some satisfaction in the absolute disaster unfolding in front of her. And yet, she couldn’t.

A hand on her shoulder caught her attention. She turned to Heather, who’s face was scrunched up with disgust.

“Fuck this, let’s get out of here.”

Veronica felt as if a huge weight had been lifted off of her chest. She nodded eagerly, leading the way to the gap in the fence, then across the numerous fields they’d trekked over. They held onto each other once they reached the woods, making sure neither one would trip over and meet the fate of face-flat in the wet mud. Honestly, it was the most support Veronica had had all night.

Hanging with Duke and Chandler made McNamara look like an angel. It had seemed Veronica had figured out just who to go out with in order to make Duke look like a saint.

They both expressed their relief when they reached the wall. On the other side was the cemetery, which would lead to the sanctuary that was Heather’s jeep.

They were about to hop the shoulder-high wall when footsteps came behind them, along with the two voices neither of them wanted to hear.

“Leaving so soon?” Kurt whined, breathing heavily. It appears they had ran after them once they realised they were gone.

“Yeah, it’s way too early for that!” Ram added.

Heather scoffed. “Way too late to make a turn-around,” she fired back.

“Noooo…” Kurt cried, stumbling over to his date. “We still have so much more planned!” He then grabbed her shoulder, pulling her towards her. Veronica tensed.

“I doubt it’s anything worth staying for,” Heather spat, trying to escape the taller guy’s grip.

“You won’t know unless you try,” his voice was attempting to be flirty and miserably failing. Heather scowled.

“I can make a wild fucking guess,” she retorted, now trying to push him off of her. “Get off of me, jackass.”

Veronica was about to step forward to drag Heather away, but was pulled back by Ram.

“How about it, ‘Ronica?” he said, as smooth as a horse tripping down a flight of stairs. “Wanna see where this goes?”

Veronica voiced her disgust. “Fuck no, how about you go fuck a cow instead?” She swiped her hand out of his grip. “Might be the most entertaining thing to have happened all night.”

“I’m not walking _all the way back there_ ,” Ram moaned.

“Heather’s close enough though, right?” Kurt chimed in. Heather gaped at him.

“Did you just call me a cow?”

They both laughed at her remark, enraging both of the girls.

“We’re _leaving_ ,” Veronica stated firmly, marching over the Heather and grabbing her wrist. Kurt refused to release his grip on her other arm, pulling her towards him. Veronica responded by yanking her back. Kurt repeated his previous action. So did Veronica.

“Jesus, what is this, tug of war?” Heather groaned. Right as she said that, Veronica tugged her again, though this time there was no force on the other end, causing her to fly backwards, dragging Heather down with her.

Veronica yelped as she hit her head on the stone wall behind her, an awful pain becoming apparent in the back of her skull. She hissed as she brought a hand up to rub her scalp, groaning at the constant throbbing.

She glanced at Heather, who had landed on her. She seemed to be unhinged - probably due to having accidentally used Veronica as a pillow to land on.

As they both attempted to readjust themselves, loud, arrogant laughter sounded from Kurt and Ram.

Veronica was still trying to make sense of her surroundings. She glanced at Heather, who had picked herself off of Veronica, and seemed to be glaring at their dates. Then she lunged to the side, grabbed the biggest branch she could reach and flung it at one of the two. Clearly she didn’t care which one she hit, so long as it hit one of them.

Veronica heard the yelp of either Kurt or Ram - in this state she couldn’t differentiate between the two - followed by Heather yelling.

“Fuck off before I stab you both square in the nuts!”

One of them - she guessed it was maybe Ram - shot back.

“Stab us with what? Your heels?”

In response, Heather grabbed both of her heels and let them slide off of her feet with ease, before standing up.

“Fucking watch me, cocktail-dick.”

Veronica glanced up at Heather, who, while much shorter than she had been on her heels, looked like she would fucking snap at any minute.

Her tone bubbling with rage seemed to temporarily silence the two of them. Heather took advantage of this and snatched Veronica’s hand, dragging her off the ground and practically forced her to hop the wall. She grunted in pain as she tried to keep up with the shorter girl, who’s grip was firm and wouldn’t allow her to slow down. They kept running until they reached Heather’s jeep, which to Veronica, felt like home. The doors were quickly unlocked and they piled in the front seats, slamming the doors and locking them again.

They could finally breathe, if not for a brief moment.

Turns out Kurt and Ram had followed them yet again and were pressing themselves up against the window.

“Wait, we didn’t mean it!” Ram cried.

“We can make it up to you!” Kurt begged.

Heather didn’t say a word, instead slammed her foot on the pedal, causing her tires to screech loudly, before racing off down the road. Veronica quickly fumbled with her seatbelt, eventually locking it on her. Heather had to wait until she was at least four blocks away before she could stop the car and do the same.

Veronica expected her to start up the jeep again, but she didn’t. Instead, she sank into her seat, breathing heavily and cradling her stomach.

“God, what a fucking disaster,” she mumbled. Veronica was still attempting to massage her head.

“You’re telling me."

Heather turned to her, her green eyes dull with exhaustion.

“Sorry for dragging you here,” she muttered. Veronica was surprised to hear an ounce of sorrow exit this girl’s mouth.

“It’s fine, I guess,” she muttered. If she were mad, she couldn’t muster up the energy or motivation to express it.

“Ugh…” Heather continued to try and catch her breath. Veronica noted how drained she was.

“So, what now?” she asked, leaning her head back against the leather chair, praying the soft surface might console her pain.

Heather shrugged. “I could just drop you off at your house.” She shot her a glance. “It sounded like you hit your head hard.”

“Sounded?” she echoed.

“It was like a rock hitting a rock,” she said.

“That’s what it felt like,” Veronica muttered.

They both sat in silence, Heather’s breath finally growing shallower. It was then when Veronica realised just how _messed up_ they were. Heather’s turquoise dress was now coated in brown mud stains. Same with Veronica’s cyan chiffon top. They weren’t too noticeable on her black shorts, but they were there.

“You know what?” Heather suddenly spoke up. “Let’s just crash at mine. It’s the closest house, anyway.” Without any sort of confirmation from Veronica, she started up the engine. “I’ll order you a pizza. Maybe then you’ll forgive me.” Her tone grew a little more joking. Just a little.

“I can’t sleep over, we have school tomorrow,” Veronica said. Heather rolled her eyes as she began to drive.

“As if you’re going to school with a migraine.”

Veronica gave a huff of laughter. “I suppose.”

“We’ll just ditch tomorrow. I feel like we deserve it after all that.”

Veronica smirked at her. “You mean after _your_ idea?”

“It wasn’t _my_ idea!” she argued. “I mean, sure, I invited you here, but the date wasn’t my idea.”

Veronica shook her head and rolled her eyes, a corner of her mouth picking up.

“And you said yes… _why_ exactly?”

Heather paused.

“How could I say no to a date?”

“With Kurt and Ram?”

Heather grunted, eyes glued to the road.

“I just want to be able to enjoy a date for once,” she heard her mumble. Veronica heard her, but decided not to comment.

 

* * *

 

 

Veronica was lying back on Heather’s bed, relieved to feel something soft beneath her. Heather had gone downstairs to answer the door, which she could only guess was the pizza delivery dude. She could faintly hear the sound of conversation, followed by the shutting of the door. Veronica waited eagerly for Heather to return with something edible - she hadn’t eaten all evening due to foolishly assuming that Kurt and Ram would have bought her something.

She eventually heard footsteps coming up the stairs, along with the delicious whiff of a pepperoni pizza. Hunger clawed at her stomach impatiently.

Heather then opened up the door, pizza box in one hand, something unidentified in the other.

“I went and looked to see if we had any ice,” she said, closing the door with her foot. “We didn’t but we have frozen peas, so you’ll have to make do.” Without warning, she tossed the cold bag to Veronica, which almost landed on her face, had she not snatched it in midair.

“Jesus, Heather, I don’t need any more injuries, thanks,” she remarked, shoving the bag behind her head and allowing herself to rest. A chill shot down her spine, but she’d be lying if she said it wasn’t a huge relief. The aching in her head seemed to calm down straight away. “Thanks, though,” she added nonchalauntly.

Heather said nothing, instead just placed the pizza next to Veronica, who flipped the box open straight away. She snatched the closest piece of pizza and bit into it eagerly.

Beside the bed, Heather was tuning her radio, flicking through the channels.

“What you searching for?” Veronica asked through a mouthful of cheese and doe.

“Hot probs,” she replied. Eventually she seemed to find the right channel and was able to hop onto the bed next to her. Veronica shuffled over a bit to give her room.

“You want some?” she asked, nudging the pizza towards her. Heather stared at it for a moment, before pushing it back.

“All yours.”

Veronica gave her an odd look, before putting two and two together.

“Haven’t you gone and seen a doctor yet?”

“ _Shh_ ,” Heather hushed her harshly. “Show’s starting.”

Heather joined Veronica in resting her head on her pillow, lying on her back and staring at the ceiling. She crossed one leg over the other and let it bounce as she listened in on the show.

Veronica did the same and began to listen intently to the radio as it began exploiting personal issues of random strangers.

One of them spoke about being rejected by every girl he flirted with. Both Veronica and Heather turn to each other and laughed.

Over the sounds of her giggles, the interviewee continued. _“I buy her as many drinks as she wants, then she thinks it’s okay to walk off without giving me anything in return!”_

“She doesn’t owe you shit, jackass!” Heather cackled. Veronica laughed along with her, trying to not choke on her pizza in doing so.

“What a dipshit,” she said after swallowing a mouthful of food.

Thankfully the show moved onto their next client.

 _“It seems that no matter how hard I try, I can just never find the right guy, y’know?”_ A voice that sounded akin to a teenage girl began to speak. _“I’ve tried every type of guy in the book. None of them ever catch my eye.”_

Veronica wasn’t too interested in the girl’s boy problems, and zoned out a little. She looked over to Heather at random, and saw that she had stopped smiling.

 _“It’s gotten to the point where I’ll take anyone on a date. Doesn’t matter if they’re a dick or not. I’m just hoping to find_ something _, y’know?”_

Heather looked down at her hands, which began to fidget. Veronica watched her curiously.

_“I usually find myself leaving early - making some excuse to get the hell out of there. I feel bad, but I’m either bored out of my mind or extremely uncomfortable.”_

Heather bit her lip.

_“It’s weird, really. I find myself enjoying myself so much more when hanging out with some of my friends. I actually feel something when I’m with them. An emotional bond, I guess?”_

Heather shot a glance at the radio.

_“I’ve told some people this before, they all think I’m weird. But I’d rather cuddle with my closest friends than any of the people I’ve dated.”_

A ghost of a smile appeared on Heather’s lips.

Veronica was still staring at her when she realised the show was over, and she quickly had to pull her gaze away and pretend she hadn’t been intensively watching her the whole time.

Some random song started to play. Veronica could hear it, but wasn’t listening to it.

“I think I’m gonna call it a night,” Heather suddenly spoke, sitting up. Veronica sat up also.

“Oh, alright,” she said. “Do you want me to move downstairs?”

Heather shrugged. “I feel bad throwing you on the couch when you’re on the verge of having a goddamn concussion,” she stated, flicking the off switch on her radio. “You can just sleep in my bed. It’s big enough.”

Veronica couldn’t help but give her a weird look. She’d never witness Heather Duke be so… hospitable.

“Oh… uhh, thanks, then.”

“Whatever.” She waved her hand dismissively, before standing up to make her way to her wardrobe. She then glanced over to her.

“Do me a favour and take all that shit down the kitchen,” she said, gesturing to the half-eaten pizza and the now-melted peas.

“Sure,” Veronica replied kindly, gathering the items together.

After placing them in their respectable positions in the kitchen, Veronica made her way back up the stairs and re-entered the bedroom. Heather had changed into green striped PJs while she was gone, along with dimming the lights.

“Do you want to borrow anything?” Heather asked as she stepped into the room.

Veronica wasn’t sure what she was referring to and stared at her blankly. Heather rolled her eyes.

“Pajamas, dumbass.”

“Oh!” Veronica laughed at herself. “It’s fine, I’ll live.” She glided over to the bed. “I don’t think they’ll fit me, anyway.” She glanced at Heather, who she could tell from where she stood that she was much shorter than her; Veronica was 5’9 while Heather was 4'9.

Heather glared at her comment. “Right,” she grunted, before lifting up her duvet to let herself in. Veronica hesitated before doing the same.

Having realised she may have offended Heather, she offered an apologetic glance.

“I didn’t mean-”

“Drop it,” Heather snapped, silencing Veronica. She rested her head on the pillow while watching Heather turn the lamp off on her nightstand. After the room went dark, with the exception of a ray of light invading the room through a gap in the curtains from outside, Heather flipped onto her side, facing Veronica.

“Wake me up any earlier than nine and see what happens,” she muttered, before closing her eyes. Veronica stifled a giggle, before doing the same.

 

* * *

 

 

Veronica was still awake. The throbbing at the back of her head had returned without the comfort of the frozen peas. She had to hold back her grunts of frustration as she tried everything she could to fall asleep. Yet, ignoring the pain proved too difficult for her.

She continued to toss and turn. Trying to sleep on her left side, her right, her back, hell, even her stomach. Nothing worked.

It was shit. Her body was clearly desperate for sleep, yet her injury was too determined to keep it’s sick joke going, despite no one laughing at it.

Veronica flipped back onto her left side again, burying her hands in her face.

“Fucking Ram and Kurt,” she hissed into her palms.

“Jesus,” a groggy murmur caught her attention. She removed her hands from her face to see Heather, her eyes half open, glaring at her in confusion and annoyance. “Why the fuck are you still awake?”

Veronica sighed. “I have a headache.”

Heather grumbled. “Go get some ibuprofen.”

“Where from?”

Heather half-buried her face into her pillow. “First cabinet you see when you walk into the kitchen.”

Veronica drousily dragged herself out of bed and lumbered down the stairs. Her tired senses took longer than usual to find the cabinet she was talking about, but she eventually found a box of medication. She retrieved two tablets, dry swallowed them, returned the box to its home and practically had to heave herself back up the stairs.

She flopped lifeless back onto the bed once she returned, lazily throwing the duvet back over her. Now she could only hope the pain would fade enough for her to get any sort of sleep.

She let her eyes close, waiting for her brain to shut off for the night as patiently as she could.

While lying in silence, she heard shifting next to her. Out of curiosity, she blinked open one eye.

Heather had shuffled closer to where Veronica was lying, though whether or not it was intentional she wasn’t sure. Hell, she couldn’t even tell if she was awake.

She stayed as still as she could in order to not wake her up, that is if she were asleep. Eventually Veronica let her eyes close and continued to wait for her headache to fade.

In the pitch black, she heard a muffled voice, followed by the feeling of Heather budging right up against her, her arm draped over her like a doll. Veronica was stunned at first and lay frozen still. Then, eventually, she was able to find comfort from the warmth of her half-assed embrace. Then she smirked and looked down on the smaller girl.

“Does this make me a _close friend_?” she whispered playfully, unsure if she’d get a response.

Heather growled into her chest. “Unless you want another bruise I suggest you shut the fuck up.”

Veronica quietly chuckled, before letting herself finally drift off, making the best of the feeling of Heather begrudgingly snuggled up against her, since she knew by the next morning she’d be on the opposite side of the bed.

**Author's Note:**

> oops it's 4am and the sun's coming up
> 
> anyway, i'm much more of a fan of this one. i'll edit it it some other time though since i need sleep rip.


End file.
